After speaking with Bea as the Princess of Ebrilyon, we’re now in front of the Alchemists’ Guild. I’ll finally be able to talk with Ririna again. Bea told us about how she used herself as bait during the trip to lure the demons out of hiding. Apparently, they’ve been active here in the capital, and she wanted us to help. We’re friends now, so I have no reason to refuse, but in exchange I asked for her help meeting Ririna. One of the soldiers from the castle gave us directions, and it wasn’t too hard to get to the Alchemists’ Guild.
“Do you really think we can trust Bea? She knew we were gonna get attacked, but she didn’t tell us anything. Why? And she said she wanted to meet you too. That means the fact we were invited to join the convoy wasn’t a coincidence. They were looking for you, and they used us for their plan!” We were finally alone after we left the castle, and Carol had some comments to make.
“Well… I’m not gonna deny that it was probably all part of her plan in some way… But that doesn’t make her bad, does it? She’s the princess, so she’s gotta be careful. The two of us are probably very suspicious from their perspective. We showed up out of nowhere, then did things that caught their attention. I fought off a big horde of monsters, and you showed them you’re on a level higher than a regular soldier. Of course she’s not gonna trust us blindly. What if we were spies?”
The Alchemists’ Guild was located in a busy street with other guilds nearby and a few street vendors. All of the buildings here were bigger and looked far better than the regular houses of the city. All the guilds stood out for one reason or another, and the Alchemists’ Guild had the largest and prettiest windows. I guess that’s how guilds show what they’re good at. When we arrived, we stopped in front of the Alchemists’ Guild since that was our destination. We were in the middle of the street, so we stepped to the back to get out of the way.
“Even if she had her reasons not to trust us, it’s still unacceptable!” Carol looked at me with her arms crossed, but then she pointed at me. “Listen, Iroha. She used us! If someone tricks you, then that’s it. It’s over! We can’t trust Bea or she’s gonna do the same thing again. Trust is everything, remember that!”
Spoked like a true girl from the House of Imaginary Boundaries. I’ve experienced it myself how hard it is to earn their trust. Makes me feel bad for Bea. “I don’t think her intentions were bad, though. Is it really that bad if she didn’t mean any harm? I mean, I lied to you about my powers, and I’m still lying about it to Katja, Hecate, and Narumi, right? But you all still trust me, don’t you?”
“Th- that’s different…” Carol got flustered for a moment. “Y- you’re just too much of an idiot! You rush into danger like an idiot, so you’re not smart enough to plot anything. Yeah… That’s right. You’re easy to read, so we can trust you.” Fufufufu… What a convenient explanation from this blushing cutie.
“Okay then… If that’s the case, then you don’t have to trust Bea completely. I’ll work with her, and you can focus on spotting any red flags for me.” Carol’s face lit up.
“Y- yeah… I can do that. You’re dumber than Narumi sometimes, so I guess it’s up to me.” I guess that’s settled then…
“Are you going back now, Carol? Getting to the Alchemists’ Guild was the goal, so I guess this is the end of our journey.”
“You mean going back to the real world? The messages from Hecate have only been getting more frequent, so I really should hurry… But it’s not over yet. I said I’d accompany you to the end, and you haven’t met Ririna yet.”
“You’re right, but the hardest part is over. I’m just gonna meet with a friend, so you don’t really have to stick with me anymore.”
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“…” In response, Carol looked at me blankly. “I guess so… I’ve helped you get here, so my job’s done, huh?” She crossed her arms again and thought for a second. “Still, we should probably go home together, right? I think I’m just gonna take a look around while I wait for you. Might even go back to the hotel. I don’t know. I’ll manage.”
“Are you sure? I might lose track of time while talking to Ririna. I don’t know how long it will take.”
“It’s fine. I’ll wait for you. We need to talk and get our stories straight before heading back anyway.” That’s true… I didn’t even consider that. How are we gonna explain our secret mission to the others? “See you later then.” Not giving me time to respond, Carol waved her hand and walked in the direction we just came. She’s gonna check out more of the city. Maybe she does get some kind of nostalgia from this place.
Now then, the Alchemists’ Guild is right in front of me, so it’s time for me to go in. Ririna said she wanted to talk to me, then just disappeared one day. Why? It’s time to ask her and find out. Part of me is still a bit scared that she actually abandoned me. I was the one convinced herself she was gonna confess and got too shy to meet her. She could be mad because of that… No point in jumping to conclusions like that. She said she still wanted to talk, so let’s talk!
I approached the big building with the pretty and unique-looking windows. Okay… How do I meet Ririna now? Do I just go in? At that moment, a young man stepped out to the street and lifted a box next to the building. “Uhmm… This is the Alchemists’ Guild, right? Are you an alchemist? Can I ask you a question?”
The young man was startled and averted his gaze. “W- wait a moment. I’ll call one of the masters for you.” With the box in his hands, he scurried back inside before I could say anything else. What was he so nervous about?
I must have waited for five minutes before an older man stepped outside. He was a black-haired man with a well-kept mustache. His clothes looked expensive, and he wore plenty of jewelry, making it easy for everyone to tell how rich he was. He stepped outside with his hands behind his back, and his nose turned up. “And who do we have here…? What does a girl like you want with the Alchemists’ Guild? The Adventurers’ Guild is on the way to the castle.”
Adventurers’ Guild? Why would I want to know that? Does he think I’m looking for work because I have a sword or something? “I’m not looking for work. I have a friend named Ririna who’s an alchemist here. I’m just here to meet her.”
“R- really…?” His initial pompous look turned into a bit of a glare. “Do you have a scheduled meeting with her?”
Huh? “No…?” I just want to see a friend. Why would I schedule a meeting for that?
“If you don’t have a meeting scheduled, then I can’t help you. The Alchemists’ Guild is currently not taking requests directly.”
“I’m not here with a request! Ririna’s a friend of mine, and I just wanna talk to her. She’s the one who told me to come here. Just ask her, and you’ll see I’m not lying.” The man sighs in response.
“If she invited you, does that mean you have an officially scheduled meeting with her?”
“No…”
“Then I cannot let you enter.”
“But-”
“I cannot help you if you don’t have a meeting scheduled. That’s the policy, and it’s not going to change no matter how much you try to argue. Now, why don’t you be on your way before I’m forced to call someone to stop you from disrupting our business?”
This prick… What an insufferable bastard! I just wanna see my friend! What’s wrong with that? Is he stupid? Looking down on me with a pompous smile on his dumb face… Who does he think he is? Dammit!
I turned to the side and walked away, so that I wouldn’t punch him on impulse. After a few steps… “This is…” There was a narrow alleyway between the Alchemists’ Guild and the one next to it. The man who turned me away went back inside, so no one would notice if I went in here. I think I can climb up some of the walls and look into the guild through some of the windows. If Ririna’s here, I might be able to find her.
Okay, let’s do this!
I climbed up the walls of the alley with my skill and looked through the guild’s windows. Unlike the ones in the front, these ones are much smaller and only exist to circulate air into some of the rooms. Not single a sign of Ririna, though… One of the windows near the top was larger than the others, but it didn’t really help me. It looked like a bedroom for someone, but it was empty right now. Oh well… I guess I have no choice but to go back to Carol now. Sigh… How am I gonna meet Ririna now? Dammit, so close yet so far. Maybe I’ll run into her if I come back later. It’s not like I have any other choice…
----------------------------------------
“Armand-sama, a girl showed up earlier today in the Alchemists’ Guild asking for the alchemist girl.”
“The princess’s new pet, I presume. We’re finally making progress, huh? We can’t be sitting around in this mansion forever. Good job finding her. Maybe now we can put our plan into action.” The demon man laid back in his chair with a smile. “What happened to her then?”
“It’s not good… Our guys followed her to an alley, but then she disappeared.”
“Disappeared? How’s that possible? Teleportation magic?”
“I don’t believe she had time for that, but it might be possible. They said she vanished into thin air.”
“Did she know she was being followed? I knew she’d be trouble. She’s even after the alchemist… Just how much does she know? Good thing we didn’t start the ritual while she’s around. We need to get her out of the picture as soon as possible. Worst-case scenario, we may need to find a way to keep her distracted while the ritual is going on.” The man then laughed confidently. “See? Two distractions. Didn’t I say we’d need a second one? With this, our promotions are pretty much guaranteed!”
“W- wow! Incredible foresight as always! I can’t believe how foolish we all were!”